CONHECIMENTOS E ATITUDES SOBRE PACIENTES COM HIV/AIDS ENTRE ESTUDANTES DE ODONTOLOGIA

Abstract

This study assessed and compared the knowledge of final-year dental students at two dental schools in Rio de Janeiro about dental care for people living with HIV/AIDS before and after a lecture on the subject. Twenty-four dental students took part in the study. All of them answered a questionnaire about the students' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the care that should be provided to people living with HIV/AIDS. A significant difference was observed in the students' knowledge and practices after the video lesson intervention. Dentists' knowledge and attitudes are key components in professional practice that can influence the reduction of the severity and prevention of HIV infection. In this sense, identifying these components is of great value for adding knowledge acquisition procedures in colleges, practices and hospitals. The video lesson proved to be an educational tool of great scope for the dentistry courses in the study, but it does not allow for greater interaction with the students to reinforce the information with a lower degree of absorption, which could be observed in the items referring to oral diseases related to HIV, as well as the legal issues that the dental surgeon must know and therefore reinforcing these issues by the teaching staff of the courses is of fundamental importance. We suggest considering the need to add a specific didactic module on HIV/AIDS infection to the university curriculum, or even specific interventions aimed at training dental students on this highly relevant practical issue.